132485-forum-access-for-free-to-play
Content ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- we wanted a united community not a toxic one and doing something like that would lead to very bad stuff on the forums...we don't need that lets not do anything that makes people feel unwelcome to the game (any game really) that just leads to leaving and word of month causing people to stay away. Even if people don't like the new model its coming and so are the players. Lets show the gaming world that one game and one community can be different then others that have gone Free to play yea? | |} ---- Okay if you really think that will cause problems then make a separate forum section for f2p players. If you aren't giving carbine your money they don't care what you have to say. | |} ---- ---- If you need a part-time moderator, you let me know. :P | |} ---- ---- ---- ---- I do not at least pay to play the game. So that you can identify me as part of the flooding. I do have an interest in the community here, and in being a part of the community here, despite. Hopefully, one or two paying players may even have occasional interest in reading my occasional posts. Edited October 1, 2015 by Gnapoleon | |} ---- What you are really saying here is "I want some kind of recognition that I am paying for the game. Look at me! I'm helping!" which I think would be a great thing. Maybe give paying members the option to have animated gifs for their avatars where non-paying players can only have still images? They could change that while they fix whatever problem is currently stopping anyone from uploading any avatar photos of any kind. Edited October 1, 2015 by PartTimeWinner | |} ---- ---- ---- ---- Thanks ever so much for the warm welcome, and I'm sure Carbine appreciates you taking the time to speak on their behalf. I have posted to many game forums over the years, and find that this one is actually the exception to the rule. Most game forums are open to members and non-members alike. In fact, a large number of game forums do not even require you to be an active player at all, so long as you take the time to register on the forum itself. While that may seem like an odd policy, it enables those that are interested in the game an opportunity to ask questions directly to the community, and allows former players that are taking a break for whatever reason, the opportunity to stay informed and in touch. It is not uncommon to see membership players take exception to thier games being invaded by F2P players. I can understand why that is the case, but F2P is a trend that all of the major producers are beginning to embrace, and with reason. Each year sees a greater number of games to choose from, and a greater number of users to play those games. The problem lies in the fact that the number of games available is growing at a faster rate than the consumer base. It is for that reason that so many games have gone to a F2P format over the past couple of years, and membership rates have either held steady, or in the case of some producers, actually fallen. While there are certain drawbacks to expanding a game to F2P players, there are some decided benefits as well. * F2P players help populate a game world (and forum), which is of benefit to paid and free members alike. * F2P players are far more inclined to purchase a sub than someone that has never played it. Of the group that accompanied me to this game, two of them have already purchased subs after a mere two days of play. Those same people have been aware of this game since it first began, but were unwilling to invest funds without a little exposure to it. Think of it this way, would you buy a new car if the dealership refused to let you test drive, or even sit in it? * Money does not come from subs alone. Just because a player does not sub to a game does not mean they will not spend money on it. I have 6 members in my guild on another game that have still not bought a sub after nearly two years of play, yet they spend money in the cash shop. Sometimes F2P players will not sub because of time restrictions, so they do not consider the sub to be a value. Other times they may simply lack the funds to maintain a sub in a game, or have to choose which of many games they will sub to. Even then they are prone to invest a little money from time to time if they enjoy the game. The notion that a F2P player will never generate revenue for a game is simply not true. They do it all the time. * Once exposed to a game, F2P players will then expose it to others. I do not currently have a sub in this game, but I have followed and liked it on my Face Book page, and joined a FB group dedicated to the game itself. I have posted an article about it's going F2P on the web site where I Admin, generated a discussion thread for new players to give their impression of it, and if it proves to be popular, I will eventually generate a WildStar board. All of that adds up to free exposure and advertising for Carbine. The amount of exposure that this influx of F2P players has generated for Carbine is possibly greater than the exposure generated by Carbine's paid advertisements. Like it or not, F2P has entrenched itself in the gaming industry, and it is not likely to disappear anytime soon, if ever. Frankly, I see this as a good thing, but obviously, there are those that disagree. It is only appropriate that having been invited to the game, the game should extend welcome. I certainly have no problem with paid members having an icon or badge to denote their status, but going the opposite route (as you suggested) and "branding" F2P players will not only give those new players a poor impression of the community, it speaks poorly of the community itself. By the same token, generating a seperate F2P community would be even worse. Do you seriously think it a good use of resources to have duplicate forums when those resources could be put into the game instead? It is up to you whether or not you wish to welcome this new crop of players into your community, as Carbine already has. If you do, you will glean many new members along the way that will choose to sub, support and advertise this game. If you choose to snub and label them as second class citizens, you will alienate them and generate negative publicity for your game and its community. You reap what you sew. I will never presume to tell the existing members of this community what they may sew, but I have no desire to be part of a community where I am not welcome. Whether or not I choose to stay and eventually support this community is as much your decision as it is mine. | |} ---- ---- well said | |} ---- ---- ---- The great Layla has avenged us! Run while you all can! =P I can just say this: F2P for WildStar is probably the best thing that has ever happened to the game! Woohoo! Let's make a great future from this change! | |} ---- ---- ---- If you want special benefits for paying money, that is possibly something that Carbine could work on with their forum overhaul (Unique Forum Titles perhaps). I'd ask NOT to have any animated avatars or signatures because that will slow down the forums and is an eyesore to those who do not care for such things. At the minimum, the forums should let us hide/disable those animated avatars (or the animations themselves) just like we can disable all signatures. Quite frankly if people like you are the only ones entitled to an opinion on an online forum then I would choose not to visit these forums at all. People with your type of hostile and threatening attitude are a big part of the reason the game was a complete barren wasteland just prior to F2P. Now you want to go back to that empty server style of playing? Carbine has responded to players (free and paid alike) as they feel is necessary. I've reviewed the NcSoft financials and I'm completely surprised they haven't already shut down the game after the disastrous exodus of just about all players after Q4 2014. If they can make enough money this holiday to stay afloat then we may see more staff hired and a better improvement on both customer service and game service (bug fixes & new content). Providing signature players with live chat support may be one additional benefit that would create added value. I hope they consider that and prioritize resources for those who are paid (like myself) before those who are completely free. The segregation of F2P players is not conducive to a welcoming forum anywhere. It does not happen. Now YOU are more than welcome to make YOUR own private WildStar-related fan forums and run them however you like. But since these are the official forums it is up to Carbine to determine what is necessary. Their game, their forums, their rules. Carbine does care what we have to say but the issue is using the proper methods of communication. I've asked about this in my thread here so that players can get the results they desire (acknowledgement that the issue has been received). Too many people make vague or incoherant bug report posts on the forums but never bother to do so in-game or via support tickets so that the issue can be properly acknowledged and forwarded to QA. They don't have the info so they can't do the bug fixes properly, alright? Send them the info and that will help them do their jobs. As someone who's dabbled in both coding and QA I know this type of thing firsthand. There are too many people doing the proper method to bother with filtering through tens of thousands of forum posts and reddit garbage trying to figure out a bug without the proper info. Your post is both eloquent and appreciated. This is the first game I've bothered to 'subscribe' by buying the box code from a local retailer and redeeming it. Unfortunately my lack of playtime has rendered my 'signature' benefits mostly pointless. I wish there was a way to choose when to activate it rather than have it activated automatically but this may be a technical issue on Carbine's side that cannot be easily remedied. EDIT: Added link because I'm a silly cupcake. Edited November 26, 2015 by FantasticCupcake | |} ----